Daily Life in Very Early China

Chinese civilization began within a major river valley. The Yellow River is the northernmost of the major Chinese rivers. Directly to the south is the Yangtze River, south of the Yangtze is the West River; south of the West River is the Red River, much of which passes through modern-day Vietnam. Sometime around 4000 BC, when the area was much more temperate and forested, populations around the southern bend of the Yellow River began to practice agriculture. They sowed millet, but sometime later, the Chinese began cultivating rice to the south.

Chinese civilization started around 4000 BC when a group called the Yangshao (yahng show) settled near the Huang Ho (Yellow) River. Archaeologists have uncovered many Yangshao villages in northern China. In one village, they have found the remains of a farmhouse. These were built partially underground with plaster floors, and roofs that were held up with wooden posts. We know little about these people, for they left no records.

About 3,000 B.C. another farming group appeared called the Lungshan people. The Lungshan were very advanced for their time. They harvested silk, and used it to weave fine fabrics. They used the potters wheel. They baked strong bricks in ovens, and used them to build their homes. They worked together on flood control and irrigation projects. They had great engineering skills.

In the Chinese version of history, however, history begins with three legendary individuals who taught the Chinese the arts of civilization around 2800 BC: Fu Hsi, the inventor of writing, hunting, trapping, and fishing; Shen Nung, the inventor of agriculture and mercantilism, and the Yellow Emperor who invented government. The Chinese believed that these heroes were followed by Three Sage Kings, Yao, Shun, and Yu. These Kings ruled with perfect wisdom, clarity, and virtue.

Chinese legend tells that the "Great Engineer", Yu, founded the Xia (sometimes called the Hsia) Dynasty in about 2,000 B.C. There are no written records. Our knowledge of their life comes from ruins of their town, ancient stories and legends. This story tells us quite a bit about ancient life in Xia times.

 

Daily Life during the Shang & Chou Dynasties
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These two ruling families controlled much of ancient China for about 1,500 years! Daily life was very similar during both dynasties. According to the Chinese, the Shang dynasty began when T'ang, a man of great wisdom, overthrew the decadent emperor Chieh, the last of the Hsia dynasty. Like the previous dynasty, the Shang eventually declined and ended when they were overthrown by the Chou.

Unlike the early accounts of history by the Chinese, there is archaeological evidence of the Shang. They built their cities in northern China around the eastern parts of the Yellow River. They are sometimes called the Yellow River civilization.

Shang and Chou times are known for their use of jade, bronze, horse-drawn chariots, ancestor worship, highly organized armies, and human sacrifice. Cities were surrounded by protective walls. One city was surrounded by a wall 30 feet high, 65 feet thick, and 4 1/2 miles long! Inside these walled cities lived the rulers, priests, and warriors. Merchants and craftsmen lived in mud houses built up against the outside walls of the cities. Farmers lived in nearby villages. Chopsticks were invented, which changed the way people ate their food.

When the Chou came to the throne, China itself was split into several states. The Shang only had power over a small region, but when the Chou kings came to power the kingdom became incredibly large. The Chou, however, adopted the Shang way of life and their government. The Chou did establish two capitals, one their traditional capital in the west and a second one in the east at Loyang.

Family
For both the rich and the poor, the family was all important. The oldest male was the head of the family. If one member of a family did something wrong, the entire family was in disgrace. The young obeyed their parents without question. This was an important part of ancestor worship. Even a wealthy noble with many servants might patch his father's robe with his own hands. Children looked forward to the day when they would be parents, and their children would honor them. The role of the woman was to be gentle, calm, respectful, and to obey her husband. In ancient China, home and family were so important that they were nearly sacred.

Ancestor Worship
Ancestor worship was very important to the early Shang kings and nobles. It was a way of life. When a man died, the ancient Chinese believed his spirit lived on in the afterworld. They believed their ancestors had magical powers that could punish them or could help them make wise decisions. To keep their ancestors happy, they brought gifts of food and wine to special places or temples. They held many celebrations to honor their ancestors.

Oracle Bones
To communicate with their ancestors, the Shang kings used oracle bones. The king or emperor would ask a question, for example, will it rain tomorrow? The priest would carve the king's question on an oracle bone, which was just an animal bone or turtle shell. (Will it rain tomorrow?) Then, the priest would heat a bronze pin and hold the hot pin to the bone. This created a pattern of cracks over the bone. The priest (who was usually a woman) would study the cracks, to find the answer to the question. These are however the written records we have of early China. These bones contain the names of the kings of the dynasties and prove that the Chinese accounts of Shang history are incredibly precise.

Kings and Nobles
The rich lived in large homes and palaces made of mud and wood. They had tall bronze candlesticks. They used bronze drinking cups. They loved to hunt. Their bronze weapons were decorated with elaborate designs. Horseback riding was very popular, both as a sport and, in late Chou times, as a method of war. (Chariots had not worked very well as the landscape was rugged.) The nobles wore elaborate gowns of silk, and lived in large, brick homes with tiled roofs. They were lavishly decorated and furnished. Jugs of wine lined the walkways. The air was scented with flowers in the gardens and spices from pots of food steaming on stoves. They were buried in lavish tombs. Unlike the ancient Egyptians, the Shang and Chou were buried with living people. In their tombs, archaeologists have found entire chariots, objects of art, and the remains of guards and dogs who accompanied kings to their graves.

Warriors
The leaders of different clans were continually waging war with each other. Warriors were
knights in bronze armor who went to battle in horse-drawn chariots made of wood and bronze. They wore bronze helmets, and carried daggers, spears, and axes. Each chariot had a driver, a spearman, and an archer. Behind them, came the foot soldiers, who were usually peasants, forced to leave their fields. Foot soldiers wore tunics and trousers.

Farmers
Most people were farmers or peasants. Their life was very harsh. Farmers homes were very simple. In the summer, peasants lived on the land near their fields. Summer homes were made of bamboo branches. In the winter, they moved to their permanent homes in the villages. Winter homes were drafty, one room houses with thatched or tile roofs, dirt floors and no furniture. The walls were made of mud. Doors faced south. Each family had their own winter home. They farmed small plots of land with primitive stone and wood tools. They did not own the land. They worked the land assigned to them by the royals and the nobles. They had to give the nobleman part of the food they grew. They were also expected to give gifts to the nobleman of wine or silk. They worked without pay on the noble's house, roads, and bridges.

Writing
The inscriptions on bronze and oracle bones still survive so we have specimens of the very first Chinese writings from the Shang dynasty. The writing system was originally pictographic. The picture for "sun" looked much like the sun.

Religion
Their gods were the gods of nature, the river god, the rain god, the earth god. They believed in many gods, but the most powerful was the sky god, T'ien, the king of gods. To the peasants, T'ien was more brilliant and more powerful than any earthbound king.

They still enjoyed the Spring Festival. At about age 15, children from several villages would gather for the Spring Festival. Unlike the nobles, marriages were rarely arranged. Boys and girls met each other at the Spring Festival, when the young boys and girls found husbands and wives.

Merchants and Craftsmen
Since this group did not produce food and were not part of the nobility, they were outside the class structure. Like slaves, they were hardly considered men. In times of war, when the city was attacked, they were not taken inside the protective walls, but were left to fend for themselves as best they could.

Mandate of Heaven
The Chou also had to contend with the validity of their rule. In order to convince their subject peoples, the Chou invented a new system of authority which they called t'ien ming, or "the mandate of Heaven." This concept is still an integral aspect of Chinese theories of authority.
 

 

Ancient China had always been a collection of more or less independent states in the north of China. The Shang and the Chou dominated the political landscape as the most powerful of those states, but they did not exercise uniform rule over neighboring regions. When the Chou began to weaken around 500 BC, these independent states began to war among themselves over territory and influence. So chaotic was this period that the Chinese refer to it as The Warring States period, and it did not end until the whole of north China was unified under a single empire, the Ch'in dynasty.

Western historians often stand in awe of the Ch'in. They were repressive, and frequently cruel, but they were also brilliant political reformers who historically brought about one of the most energetic periods of Chinese government. Their story, however, is brief. For from the time the Ch'in unified China in 221 BC, to the time of their fall fifteen years later in 206 BC, not even a generation had passed. For all that, so massive was their accomplishment that our name for China is derived from the Ch'in.

The Ch'in
They were a small state in the west near the Wei River. As with all states during the Warring States period, the Ch'in pursued an aggressive policy of territorial expansion. The Ch'in, however, had one great advantage: they had adopted a new style of government based on Confucianism, which held that human beings were fundamentally selfish and had to be strictly controlled through laws. These laws were effective only if punishments were severe and certain. But this philosophy also demanded a strong central government, a strong military, a tightly controlled economy, and the strict regimentation of the citizens of the state. As a result, the Ch'in kingdom grew powerful and wealthy in a very short time.
                                                                                                 
Ch'in shih-huang-ti
By 256 BC, the Ch'in had become the most powerful state in China, and in 246 BC, the kingdom fell to a thirteen year old boy, Ch'eng. As a young man, he surrounded himself with brilliant ministers. His most powerful and trusted advisor was Li Ssu, and under his advice, in 232 BC, King Ch'eng, at the age of twenty-seven, began a vigorous campaign to unify and centralize all the northern kingdoms. The surrounding kingdoms were no match for the wealth and military power of the Ch'in, and by 221 BC, Ch'eng conquered all of the northern kingdoms.

Exalted Emperor
He assumed the title, Ch'in shih-huang-ti, or "The First Exalted Emperor of the Ch'in." Under his guidance, and the advice of Li Ssu, Ch'in shih-huang-ti created the form of government which served as the model for all future Chinese dynasties. First, the government was centralized around the emperor and his ministers. In order to facilitate that centralization, the Ch'in replaced the old, feudal system in which territory was controlled by more or less independent nobility with a strong, hierarchical bureaucracy. All the members of this bureaucracy, as well as the ministers of the state, would be appointed by the central government. In order to break the power of the aristocracy, he confiscated their lands and distributed them to the peasants. To facilitate the taxation process, government taxes were taken directly from the peasants.
 
Government
In order to cement the centralization of government, Ch'in shih-huang-ti embarked on an ambitious campaign of standardizing money and weights and measures.  The laws of the unified empire were strict and harsh. The penalty for any corruption at all among government servants was death. Confucianism was outlawed and their books were burned and their teachers were executed. The Ch'in were also hard on commerce.  the Ch'in severely restricted trade and mercantilism, taxed the merchants heavily, and executed merchants for the most trivial offenses.

Expansion
The Ch'in, however, set their eyes on more than the administration of the northern territories. They turned south and steadily conquered the southern regions of China all the way to the Red River in north Vietnam. Their greatest enemy, however, was to the north. Called the Hsiung Nu, these nomadic, Hunnish people, had been making constant incursions into the northern territories all during the Chou period. The peoples north of China had originally developed as hunters and fishers, but when the region began to dry out and the forests receded, they turned to keeping flocks. As a result they learned horsemanship and began to wander nomadically; they also began to fight among themselves. This constant fighting made them highly skilled at fighting on horseback, and when they began to wander into the northern states of China, they made extremely formidable opponents for the infantry-based northern states. In response to these incursions, the northern kingdoms all during the Chou period built walls and fortifications along their northern borders. The Ch'in began a massive project of joining many of these walls and fortifications. Although the Ch'in did not build the "Great Wall" as historians used to claim (the Great Wall was built during the Ming dynasty), this fortification and building project during the Ch'in period was in itself truly amazing.

The Fall of the Ch'in
Ch'in shih-huang-ti died in 210 BC at the age of forty-nine; the amazing thing about the empire he had  founded is that it collapsed only four years after his death. While the Legalist government of Ch'in shih-huang-ti was ruthlessly efficient in its control over the state and the bureaucracy, that ruthlessness proved to be its undoing. The emperor, who had hoped to found a dynasty lasting over ten thousand years, had alienated many people, particularly the landed aristocracy. The building projects of the Ch'in demanded forced labor and heavy taxation; people all throughout the empire were on the verge of revolt. Finally, the Ch'in had created a government that virtually ran without the emperor, who remained aloof from day to day governing. Upon Ch'in shih-huang-ti's death, the two most powerful administrators, Li Ssu and Chao Kao, covered up his death and took over the government. They installed a puppet emperor, but for the most part all Chinese government rested in their hands. Both Li Ssu and Chao Kao ruthlessly enforced penalties on lower administrators; because of this, regional administrators kept secret the revolts and uprisings in their territories for fear of punishment. Eventually, Chao Kao eliminated Li Ssu, and the territorial uprisings became so severe that they could no longer be kept secret. By that point, it was too late, and the dynasty that was to last ten thousand years disappeared only four years after its founder died.

 

Daily Life in Han Times

This was not the Golden Age of China, but life was very good for many of the people because of the demand for Chinese silk and the creation of the major trade route, the Silk Road. Construction of the Silk Road allowed trade to flourish more easily with the Roman Empire. People bonded together into one civilization during Han times. They had a common culture. Even in remote sections, district officials copied the manner of the imperial court. Peasants built homes and plowed their fields in the same way all over China.

Han writing tells us little about their daily life. Han tombs, however, tell us quite a lot. The Hans buried clay models of their homes and belongings, in their tombs. Models included details like little clay furniture and little bronze oil lamps.

Art & Science
So much was lost during the book burnings of the Qin Dynasty. The Han people tried very hard to replace the literature that was lost during Qin times, especially the works of Confucius. They created new works of literature and music. Beautiful murals were painted on the walls of palaces. Scroll painting began. Craftsmen made jade jewelry and carvings, gold ornaments and belt hooks, delicate paintings with wire thin brush strokes. Iron was used for making plows and other cast iron objects. Glazed pottery was brightly painted with lively hunting scenes, mountains, trees, clouds, dragons, tigers, and bears. They invented acupuncture. During Han times, these ancient people invented paper. They also invented an instrument that told them when an earthquake was happening, somewhere in the Empire, so they could send troops and food to help.

Schools
One of the Han emperors (Emperor Wudi), around 100 AD, agreed with Confucius that education was the key to good government. He started a system of public schools, for boys only, taught by Confucian teachers. The teachings of Confucius were nationally honored. Schools were set up in each providence. There was a major school, called the Grand School, in the capital. In the beginning, only 50 students were allowed to study at the Grand School.  In less than 100 years, enrollment at the Grand School was over 30,000 students.

Life in the Cities
Only about 10% of the population lived in the cities. Cities were neatly laid out with main streets and alleyways. Each city was surrounded by a strong wall, made of earth and stone. As cities are today, the ancient Han cities were centers of government, education, and trade. Most marketplaces, throughout the city, had free entertainment. Musicians played bells, drums, and string instruments, and jugglers and acrobats performed. Jobs were given to educated people, as well as nobles. People were paid for their work.

The People
The poor lived in houses packed together. They had very little food, and little to no sanitation. Many of the young males joined street gangs. Gangs wore distinctive clothes and armor, that identified their gang. Teen gangs roamed the cities, terrorizing people. The rich rushed to imitate the imperial palace. They built elaborate homes, decorated with drapery, and cashmere carpets. They furnished family tombs with stone lions. On the lions, and on others sculpture, they added inscriptions mentioning how much each item had cost! The rich lived in comfortable, large houses with many rooms and fireplaces. Each home was built around a central courtyard. They had elaborately carved furniture that showed Greek and Roman influence, and painted stuccoed walls with floral designs. Other walls were left bare to display paintings or bronze mirrors. Dinner was elaborate. Kids were tutored in science, math, literature, art, religion, and music. Some studied in their homes, and some at the home of their tutor. The rich did not use the public schools. They wore belted robes with long sleeves lined with silk. When it was cold, they wore warm fur coats, made of squirrel and fox skins and leather slippers.

Merchants & Craftsmen
As in Shang times, merchants were hardly recognized as men. Once the canals were built, some merchants and craftsmen became rich. A really successful merchant might ride in a cart with a coachman, buy a title from an emperor, and built a mansion surrounded by pools and gardens. This absolutely infuriated officials and peasants.

Life in the Country
Country folk were farmers. They lived in one or two story mud houses with tiled or thatched roofs. They had curtains on the windows. Barns and other buildings surrounded the house. Several families lived in one house to allow them to work their fields together. They still did not own their farms, but farms were larger in size, because families had learned to team up. This solved a major problem. Together, they were able to produce more food, some years, than they needed, which allowed them to trade food for other items. They still worked very hard. They went to bed at dark and got up at dawn. They dressed in simple clothes. Both men and women wore shirts and pants made of scratchy cloth, and sandals made of straw. They stuffed their clothes with paper and cloth, to stay warm in the winter. They steamed much of their food over boiling water on stoves. In the south, they ate rice, steamed dumplings, and fish, flavored with garlic and onions. In the north, they ate much the same, only they ate wheat instead of rice.

 

T'ang Dynasty  600 AD to 900 AD

Around 600 AD, the T'ang managed to pull China together once again. Under T'ang leadership, ancient China entered her Golden Age. China was the wonder of the world! It was a time of prosperity and gaiety and experimentation. People tried new things!

Examination Day
You did not have to be a noble to hold a high position. To be assigned a job in high office in one of the many towns and villages, you had to pass the government exams. It was a route to riches and fame. On examination day, the day the tests were given, horses and coaches thronged the road to the city.

The Arts
The T'ang Empire is famous for its brilliant stories, literature, dancing, music, and art. A special room was set aside in the imperial palace for training singers and dancers. Talented dancers and singers came from India and Korea to study singing and dancing in China. Scroll painting became very popular. Painting, like everything else, blossomed in the T'ang Dynasty. Brushes were used to make thick lines and filled in color. Sculpture, especially Buddhist sculpture (statues of Buddha) were extremely popular. Pottery was painted with representations of musicians, maidservants, soldiers, domestic and miraculous animals, minor deities, and signs of the zodiac. Huge orchestras, with as many as 700 instruments, performed at the imperial court. Tea drinking and tea ceremonies became all the rage. Craftsmen worked with iron, bronze, copper, gold, silver, and other metals.

Capital City
Ch'ang-an, the capital city, was a rather big town of over one million people! The city was designed like a checkerboard, with broad wide streets, and side streets, and city blocks. There were 110 blocks, each like its own village, with a marketplace and temples. Throughout the city, residents and visitors could enjoy tea shops, cake shops, gem dealers, pawnbrokers, street acrobats and storytellers, colorful banners, lots of bazaars. It was a lively place.

Houses
Households in the large capital city of Ch'ang-an had baths, heaters, mechanical fans, fountains, ice-cooled rooms, mirrors, musical instruments such as the harp, ceramics, spoons, goblets of gold and silver. The rich were waited on by servants and slaves. The pagoda look became popular during T'ang times. Homes of the wealthy and of the nobles were very large, with several rooms, built of wood and brick. Farmers homes were made of sun dried brick and bamboo. They were very simple, one room homes.

Clothing, Hair and Cosmetics
Men had topknots. They shaved their heads except for the hair right in the center of the top of their head, which they let grow long. Then they wrapped it up in a knot. This was called a topknot! They used gold and decorated hair pins to keep them in place. On their heads, women balanced jeweled crowns with little jingling bells dangling from the edges. Women
used little make-up boxes that held a mirror, rouge, and lipstick. Eyebrows were carefully designed. In T'ang times, they were shaped like little mountains, like this ^. (Eyebrows have always been part of ancient Chinese fashion. In 2c B.C., eyebrows had sharp, pointed tops. In 2c A.D., eyebrows were gently curved.) In T'ang times, shoes were really important. They were a sign of status. Peasants wore straw sandals. Nobles wore fine cloth slippers. Nobles wore turquoise colored features in fancy hats, and silk robes with jade belts. Clothing was made of silk for the rich, and ramie cloth for the poor (woven from a plant called
ramie, rough, coarse, used to make farmers clothes.)  Entertainment and Sports: They played board games such as backgammon, and a game called "go", (which is now the most popular game in Japan!) Music, dancing, hunting with falcons, and archery were all popular. They played a kind of football, and enjoyed polo, which had been introduced from India. They had national celebrations, such as the Emperor's Birthday, which was enjoyed by rich and poor alike.

The Family
The days of human sacrifice were long over, but honoring ones ancestors was still very important. Family members were expected to help each other, and care for each other. When a girl married, she went to live with her husband's family. Only boys could go to school. They did not have to go to school, but it was free, and encouraged. Girls learned at home. Education was very important. Teachers were one of the five objects of worship. (The other four were heaven, earth, the emperor, and parents).

Religion:
Buddhism had been introduced in 1cAD, but it really took hold during T'ang times. Confucianism was very strong, and so was Taoism. These three philosophies were known in T'ang times as the Three Doctrines . Still, if you were to ask someone in ancient China, even as late as 8th century A.D., what is the official religion of China?-they probably would not have mentioned Buddhism, Confucianism, or Taoism. They would probably have said something like this: The proper and seasonable worship of the gods of the rivers and mountains, and wind and moon, and of our noble
ancestors. Many of the celebrations and festivals that honor these ancient gods are still celebrated by the Chinese today. Honoring gods and ancestors was very much a part of ancient Chinese daily life.

Farmers
Eastern T'ang: In spite of the wonderful Golden Age enjoyed by the rich in the cities, most of the people in T'ang times were farmers. For a while their life was a bit improved. At least they owned the land! The early T'angs distributed the land equally, to create a nation of free farmers. Each farmer received one ch'ing of land, about 15 acres. (In later years, this system of family farms broke down. Landlords and nobles took back the land. China reverted to feudal times, where nobles owned and peasants worked.) They ate beans, turnips, barley cakes, melons, peaches, bits of pork and chicken, plums, lots of fish, and drank wine. In the north, still, they ate breads made of wheat. In the south, still, they ate rice. Although they worked hard, they were not unhappy. For the most part, they were not at war. They had developed a culture rich with ancestor worship and festivals and customs. They were simple people, who enjoyed simple pleasures. They were richly aware of the many beauties of nature.
 

 

As of 12/31/01

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